Purpose: The incidence and prevalence of neurodevelopmental disorders have rapidly increased,
indicating an urgent need for assistance through parenting interventions. This study aimed to evaluate
the effects of a sociodrama-based communication enhancement program on mothers of children with
neurodevelopmental disorders.
Method: A non-randomized controlled experimental study design was employed. The experimental and
control groups had 16 and 18 participants, respectively. The once-a-week six-session intervention was
conducted from September to November 2017, in South Korea. The effects of group, time, and group-bytime
interactions among the groups were verified using generalized estimating equations with an
autoregressive correlation structure.
Results: There was a significant decrease in the parenting burden, alongside a significant improvement in
parent-child communication and parenting competence in the experimental group compared to the
control group.
Conclusion: The sociodrama-based communication enhancement program was found to positively influence
the parenting burden, communication, and parenting competence of mothers of children with
neurodevelopmental disorders. These findings suggest that sociodrama-based programs may be an
effective intervention strategy for parents of children with neurodevelopmental disorders. The
sociodrama-based communication enhancement program can be applied to decrease parenting burden
and improve parent-child communication and parenting competence. Through continuous parenting
interventions, an improvement in expressive language and an increase in the attachment behaviors of
children with neurodevelopmental disabilities could be expected.